The ways in which users are able to create digital images through interaction with computing devices continues to expand. However, the techniques used to select and generate colors have not kept pace with this expansion. For example, conventional techniques are limited to selecting a particular hue for a color, which limits functionality that otherwise may be made available to users. Additionally, these conventional techniques typically rely on complex user interface interactions and thus require expertise that make these systems unapproachable by untrained and novice users. Even once these user interface interactions are learned, conventional techniques to provide feedback regarding changes to the color are modal in that examples are successively output to replace previous colors, which therefore makes it difficult for the users to compare an effect of changes to the colors in conventional color section systems.
An example of this is complicated and complex techniques used by conventional systems to define and select colors for use in creating or modifying a digital image and limited feedback provided in response to this selection. In one conventional example, a color picker is used to select a fill or stroke color by choosing from a color field and spectrum, which defines the color numerically or by clicking a swatch. A swatch is a named color, tint, gradient, and pattern used to define the named color that are typically defined through a swatches panel and swatch library that are output in a user interface. The swatches panel includes options to select colors, gradients, and patterns for the named color.
Therefore, selection of a color in this technique relies on a user's understanding in how to interact with the color field and spectrum numerically and/or through the swatches panel and swatch library, which may be intimidating and confusing to novice and casual users. Further, changes made through this interaction cause a previously selected color to be replaced by a newly selected color, which causes the user to lose context and lack an ability to readily and accurately determine an effect of the changes. The user, for instance, may repeatedly make and remove changes to select a color to view an effect of these changes, which is inefficient and frustrating.
In another conventional example, a color panel is used to apply and edit an object's fill or stroke in a user interface. The color panel typically includes numerical options to select color values, a color spectrum bar, and a color slider. To select a color, a user first selects a color mode (e.g., RGB, CMYK) and then drags or clicks the slider to set numerical color values, enters the numerical values directly as text, or selects a point on a static color spectrum bar. Thus, the user is tasked with manually selecting color values and/or making a selection from the static color spectrum bar, which also requires specialized knowledge and thus may also be confusing to novice and casual users. Also, like the above example feedback is provided by replacing a previous color with a newly selected color, which causes the user to lose context and lack an ability to readily and accurately determine an effect of the changes.
Therefore, in each of the conventional examples above, a user may take years of practice and training in order to consistently achieve a desired result (e.g., a desired color for use as part of a digital image) due to complications of the conventional techniques used to select colors. This challenge is increased due to limitations of conventional feedback techniques used to replace previous results of this selection, which are modal and as such increase challenges in determining an effect of the changes due to limitations of the feedback.